12-year-old Shelby Grebenc holds one of her 130-hen flock in Adams County, Colorado.

Shelby recently earned the “Animal Welfare Approved” label for the eggs her 130-some laying hens produce in unincorporated Adams County. She had to meet 26 pages of stringent requirements for the hens’ care, from how wide the doors to their shelter are to the kinds of records she keeps. A half-day inspection from third-party experts checked her work.

“I thought it would be hard, and I didn’t think I would be able to get it,” Shelby said of the label. But once the certification was won, “It kind of made me happy to realize I was doing everything right.”

Shelby’s in 4-H and gets help and advice from Adams County Extension. And a little bit from her brother, Conner, 9. And her dog (who helps deter predators) and her cat (who actually plays with the chickens).

Shelby says the egg operation (about 500 dozen in winter, more in summer) has made her a much better math student, because she has to balance the costs of feed, heat for the shelters, and all of her other inputs against the price she gets for eggs.

You can tell the affection Shelby has for her flock from how she talks about them — and the name she gave her egg operation: Shelby’s Happy Chapped Chicken Butt Farm. Here’s the story behind that wacky name.[1] You can get eggs from her evenings and weekends at the farm at 154th and Huron streets.

And if you’re thinking about adding chickens to your home garden patch, there’s lots of helpful info[2] for you, too.